Is Greater Spokane League basketball as good as last year, better or down a bit? It's tempting to say the latter given that every team, but two have three or more losses already. But maybe we were so focused on Ferris last year that we forget. Gonzaga Prep is this year's top team and after Tuesday's dismantling of North Central could be the Saxons heir in Tacoma come March. Who, besides Shadle Park, has the best chance of stopping them?

Last year only the Saxons and Bullpups had winning records among this year's remaining 4A teams and Gonzaga didn't make it to regional because of illness to point guard David Stockton, who showed Tuesday night how valuable he is, not only as playmaker, but scorer. Given that Central Valley needed overtime to get past winless East Valley and that Rogers ran past Lewis and Clark, it's becoming evident that the 3A portion with the addition of Shadle and the Pirates, the strongest segment of the Greater Spokane League (and therefore the most intruiging come post-season). If Gonzaga is this year's Ferris, are there any other 4A teams good enough to stave off the Columbia Basin Big Nine's six when regionals roll around?

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